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I am still agonizing over the loss of my Dusty. It's been five long days. I keep wondering about the follwing question. Three times in the last year, she has chewed through the wood fence that she has lived in for almost 13 years without incident and we found her and brought her home. My vet said she might have been trying to go away to die. Does anyone believe that? I just find it hard to believe that it was her time, but my hubby thinks it was.

not sure about that, but the night before we put Oscar to sleep ( my little bichon) he was pacing a lot and kept going out the dog door. we have a fenced yard, so not sure if he was trying to leave. but he went out several times and just sat in the yard, looking around. as if he were taking in his home and yard one last time. that was not normal behavior for him at all, he may have already been in the process of "leaving"

It is *so* painful to have a furchild leave when we have no idea where or why or how. My sympathies to you; there's nothing more difficult than the "not knowing."

To answer your question, though: Yes, I did have a similar thing happen years and years ago. We had two dogs, Spanky and Duchess. Spanky had been diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease, so i knew his time was limited. I live in what was then a *very* rural area (not so rural any more :( ), so the dogs were frequently outside, although both lived in the house. Spanky failed to come in one day, which he'd never done before, so I was, of course, worried. I called my trusted vet, Mike, who told me that sometimes, knowing they're going to leave, dogs will run off and hide. This, I think, is a response tuned by evolution: wild animals go off to die alone. I took Duchess with me, then, knowing that she could find him if anyone could. Sure enough - he was about a quarter mile away, lying at the edge of the neighbor's cornfield, still alive but weak. I carried him (an impossibility for me now) back to the road, told my son to stay with him while I walked the rest of the way home for the car. We took him to Mike's and sent him on to the Bridge. So, yes, it's quite possible that Dusty knew she was about to make her transition and has gone off to do so. Even if she wasn't ill that you know of, she could have sensed that it was time to go Home. I pray that you will somehow find peace; it's so hard to do without closure. Please come here whenever you like; we'll do the best we can.

akita - I'm so sorry about Dusty. I have heard the same thing but I really don't know if there is any scientfic evidence to back that up. But, if that would be true, it would again be the unselfish nature of our wonderful furbabies to do this, thinking that it would not cause us the pain. Maybe they don't understand that not knowing is so very difficult. HUGS to you and your family! I am sure this is such a difficult time for you and I know that posting here has really helped me with my sadness. Please keep posting. I am sure these wonderful people here will have a better answer than I do. I just care so very much and wanted to tell you so.

I don't know if dogs wander off to die, but I can tell you that my Blue's behavior changed in the last few weeks of her life. She was over 17 years old. I didn't have a fence because she was trained to stay with me & in her yard. Near the end tho' she started wandering...especially at night. She'd just start walking into the darkness and I'd follow her to find her 2 or 3 yards away just laying there. Was she trying to tell me even then she was too tired to go on? I don't know.

I have no idea about your baby's particular situation, but I do know that many animals do choose to pass on their own. My sisters cat Ivy had cancer but she didn't yet feel the time was right to have her PTS, one day Ivy was just gone. She was indoor/outdoor so she definitely knew how to fend for herself outdoors and she never approached strangers.
On a lesser scale my sweet rattie Annabelle chose to pass in the SINGLE MOMENT she was alone. My mother and I had taken shifts being with her 24/7 for over a week, she even slept with me. On her final day my Mom laid her on my bed 5 minutes before I was due in from work, and made a quick run to the store.
I think it depends on the animals personality and if they think we can handle being there when the time comes.
That being said, perhaps Dusty knew her time was coming soon and there was something she felt she needed to do before she passed? Maybe she just wanted to run free or maybe she had a special mission? I know my Libertine was missing for an entire day last week, something that was so out of character for her. When she chose to return she looked so very happy, I like to think she had one last big adventure.

I'm so sorry for your loss of Dusty. It's been 2 1/2 months since my Teddy passed, and I'm still having a very difficult time. To address your question, I believe your vet could be correct in saying that Dusty was trying to run away to die. I remember my mother telling me when I was a little girl, that her family owned a terrier and that they were known to do the same. I think that your husband is right in feeling that way. Dusty was probably sparing you the pain of having to be there. I'll say prayers for you in hopes that you get through this period. Stay on this site. I know that it's helped me so much in the healing process because of all these wonderful people.

Dusty stayed in the house except during when we worked. We had a huge yard fenced in that connected to our deck and had a doggie condo for her. I never worried about her 'getting out of the fence' until she started to chew to get out last year. I had to start chaining her during the day which broke my heart because I did not want to come home and find her gone. I know that sounds selfish of me to want to keep her around longer. I just miss her so much.

I don't know if that answer, like many, doesn't vary from pooch to pooch. I do remember when our cat Suki (who we could not keep inside - she was a natural hunter of usually just mice) didn't return a few hours after she'd proudly gone for her little hike - I remember the frustration and sense of "What now?" I had that she never returned. Likely the victim of a wild animal that outwitted her we, three years later, still peruse the woods surrounding our property for her spunky tail and little victory meow.

Not knowing what happened to Dusty is very difficult and it's hard to grieve when you're just not certain and full of questions.

My prayers are with you. Thanks for your support, too, these past couple days as I've been dealing with my own loss. You have MANY friends here. - connie

We lost Venus about 5 1/2 years ago to renal failure. She was very sick for the last two weeks. She couldn't run away, but she went into the powder room (where she never went before) and refused to come out except to go to bed. I'm sure if we didn't have a fence, she would have gone off alone to die. All the soft couches & beds in the house, and she was on the powder room floor. It broke my heart.

I am so sorry about Dusty. I can understand the pain you are experiencing. I do not have any first hand experience about dogs going away to pass, but had a friend that had two dogs in a fenced yard and one went missing, they found it down the road near a bunch of trees and it had passed. The vet said he went away to pass. He explained that some do that and the thought is that they do not want you to experience them passing. He also said that is what animals in the wild do. I don't know if that helps. I am praying for you.

After all these loving and thoughtful posts, I return to your original question. Yes, some furred ones do try to run away and die alone. Some do, some don't.

You have to realize that it has nothing to do with what you did in all your years together, it is no reflection on all those long years of shared love.

Some furred ones, just like some humans, do want to go away to die alone. That may have been what your beloved one was trying to do, it may have been years before your loved one actually succeeded. These love bonds are so strong, our furred ones keep coming back to be with us again even when their first choice is to leave this world. The love that we share outweighs their own personal choice. We have been so immeasurably blessed when this happens.

Yet, at some point, knowing that we humans will outlive our furred ones, that no matter what we do, they will leave this world before us, we do have to let them go on to the next phase of existence. I have cried so many thousands of tears for the kitties who are no longer with me, but it was the best for them to leave when they did.

A love bond can never be broken, so we will be together again some day. JUst as you and your beloved angel will be.

Hi, I am new here. I have read some of the stories here and feel your grief. My little poodle mix, Ginger, has been gone for a week now. She was about 17 years old and had just started to show her age. Her health had just recently been going down hill. I let her outside around 7:30 pm last Thursday and came back in to check on my three sons, who are ages 5, 3 & 7 months. I got really busy with the boys and it was probably close to 30 minutes before I realized Ginger had not scratched on the door. She always scratched on the door to get back in. I went out and immediately started searching for her and called out the neighbors, my mom, and even my husband came home from work early to look for her. We covered every inch of the woods and neighborhood and found no trace of her.

I now feel extremely guilty for leaving her out there alone! I will never be able to forgive myself. I should have known better. She had been acting strange that day, even used the bathroom in her bed ( which she had NEVER done before) and she paced all day. Many people have told me that dogs go off to die. I called the local pounds today just to make sure they didn't have her and the lady at the pound told me that "NO, dogs DO NOT go off to die, they get lost and confused and then die because of that". So I hung up the phone and started crying, because that just reassured me that I had left her out there and she had become confused and lost and probably died because I neglected. Then I got on the Internet and found a post that said this. I have quoted it here"

"precious little would set me crazy as much as taking a lost report for an ancient, deaf, blind arthritic dog! I really just wanted to reach through the phone & throttle the id-iot on the other end.

Why do people let these poor dogs outside? Oh, yes, I remember now - they never left the yard before!!!!

Dogs as with people, need extra care in their latter years - "letting" them outside loose does not qualify as CARE!"This made me feel even worse, because I have actually told a few people 'she never left the yard before'. Is this person right? Am I an idiot and totally neglectful for what happened to my dog? I am having such a hard time with this. I did care about my dog, I took wonderful care of her for 15 years, she was a 'stray' when I found her. I never thought I would lose her this way.

Haybird, Just about anything you read, either on the Internet, the newspaper, a book, etc. is open to opinion. It may indeed be that one person's experience, but it is not everyone's! It's not just in pet care, either; start reading about ideal diet for yourself or your pets, "best" medical practice for about any condition, even whether or not evolution is "true". Anybody can say anything.

Once I attended an author book event where the man claimed that cats allowed to go outdoors live only four years, but strictly indoor ones *average* 21 years! All my cats have been allowed to go outside, they have lived 15-18 years. Same is true of my friends' and family's cats. A 21 year old cat is like a human well over 100; that is *not* a realistic average. [I said nothing, it was his event, but thought it wasn't right of him to spread misinformation like that.]

Now, if our furred ones gradually become more forgetful and we see it, then we would know to watch them more and more carefully. That is just common sense for both cats and dogs. Often there is nothing different to see, though.

I've never had a pet do it, but think that some animals do go off to die; plenty of other animals do, so do some humans. And any creature could have a sudden and fatal heart attack or stroke, as just one example, at any age, with no prior history or symptoms.

Also, as a recommendation, go personally to the shelter and ask to look in every single room where your baby might be. Sometimes the recordings or people you talk to are not up to date, sometimes just plain incorrect. A former neighbor's orange tabby never was listed in the "found pets" recording-- but he was at the shelter when one of them went to look.

We can find plenty of useful information online, but we need also not to uncritically believe everything we read and hear.

You're right. I shouldn't let that post get to me. I understand there are many different opinions out there. This is just so raw to me that I can't see through it. I guess the guilt is overcoming me. I keep thinking I should have stayed out there with her (even though I never did before), but we have to watch my 3-year-old son really close around our baby and at that time I had to come in and check on them. We live in a rural area and way off the road, so it just puzzles me as to where she could have gone. I mean we have covered every inch of the area around here.

I did check the local pound today. I just got back from there. I didn't find her though.

My Pyr, Belle, the two times in her life when she was really sick she stayed in the basement. I read someplace that this is natural, perhaps instinct to be away from the pack because they are weak and therefore vulnerable.

If you read any of my previous posts, I guess I need to clarify...Dusty did not run away and die, she was pts 7 weeks ago. But her behavior in doing things like trying to 'run away' several times was unusual for her. She was always content..she had plenty of fenced in yard and a large deck to wander. She had never attempted to do anything like that until about a year ago. When she made her second attempt in recent months, I had to start chaining her in the yard during the day while I worked...which broke my heart.

Was she trying to go away...I will never know for sure. And the guilt over what we did or didn't do is consuming of energy, but it does not change what happened. I can't bring her back as badly as I want to.

I would like to believe that trying to break out was a sign from her that she was 'tired'...I think believing that would somehow make what happened a little easier.

I am sorry for all your loses as well. I am still not very good at helping anyone else feel better as I am still having my ups and downs alot. Thanks to all you for listening and the comforting words and support. This is still a confusing and emotional time for me.

I hope someday I will find some peace. I love you Dusty girl! I miss you!

Akita, My heart goes out to you! I am so, so sorry to hear you are still having such a rough time. I have been thinking about you lately and was wondering how things were going for you. I know you loved Dusty with all of your heart and soul and will miss her forever. I will continue to say prayers for you and hope you are able to find some peace. Sending hugs to you,MelissaBetsy, Easy, Ralph and Gracie's mom

I am sorry about Ginger, I hope you are able to locate her. I received your pms.

If you hadn't read any of my other posts, you would not have known the whole story, so no apologies needed...please! We are all in the same kind of pain, taking one day at a time, hoping that someday we will be somewhat whole again.

((( To ALL of YOU )))

Thanks for the hugs, prayers and empathy. I never knew how hard this was ever going to be. I don't know when I will feel 'normal' again. I appreciate that I am not alone.

Wondering and trying to find answers...it's the NOT KNOWING and the SECOND GUESSING that haunts me. I guess I am hoping this was a sign from her that she was ready to go to the bridge...but I guess I will never really know.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful support and caring. My heart goes out to each and every one of you as well.

Today I am just sad- On Friday my dog Poppy, a mini doxi mix 16 years old wandered off. Was this wandering off to die? People are telling that maybe this is so. We have searched bushes in neighbors yards, our yard and searched the streets. We have placed huge signs with her picture, an ad in the local paper and with the animal shelters.

Having such a sweet,loving dog for 16 years and then to look at her empty bed is devistating. It may sound horrible but I have smelled her bed as if I was saying good night the past two nights. I live in Santa Rosa, CA and the nights have been cold and rainy.

I sit here weeping as I write this post because I an looking at her picture just wanting to hold her and kiss her. I am hoping that someone kind still has her and that her little loving heart is still beating. I am selfish to say that I wanted to hold her in my arms if in fact it was her time to die. I am worried that if she wanderd off to die she died in a cold, wet place. I have prayed so much that she will come home. Now it could be in any form, I just want to properly,at least in my heart, to put her at rest at home with us.

I truly believe that animals know when their time is near, and try to be alone at that time. My sister had a wonderful dog who ran off and she found him in a stream in the woods — not drowned, just gone.

The last two kitties I lost both displayed this behavior. Lulu, who left me on 1/30, had been hunkering down in odd places for several days. The furnace room, our bathroom (which has no windows), on a pillow next to me and my computer in the office with no lights on. She slept there next to me for the whole day, and I left the lights off as I knew that's what she wanted. I had a glass of ice water there, and I let her share it with me every so often through the day. The next morning she was lying unconscious on the bathroom rug, and passed away soon after. The sight of her tiny little body lying there rips my heart.

The point is, she was spending time in dark places that she never spent time in. I think they find the darkness comforting.

I'm so sorry for your loss. All we can do is be grateful for all the wonderful years God gave us with them. I also think that in some way, we who love them so are a little special in His eyes, because we accept the pain that follows all the years of caring. It's so hard, but well worth the tears, don't you think?

I think our Lucy tried to go off to die in her last 6 months she was alive. We never let her out without us. At night she'd ask to go out and would just strike off out into the back 40 (we live in a rural area) and just keep going with this sort of grim expression on her face, until we made her turn around and come back to the house.

It definitely wasn't a recreational walk, there was no sniffing or investigating. Just a determined slow shuffle (she was very arthritic) out into the woods.

I strongly believe that if we hadn't been there with her all the time to make her turn around she would have kept going and would have passed out there at some point.

I've been wondering about this as well. My Sheltie "disappeared" under a coworker's care over christmas vacation. Then they said they found him in the river. I just don't see how that can be, if their yard was enclosed and my dog doesn't like water. I've been blaming them for their negligence but what if my dog really knew it was his time. On the other hand, what if he didn't know what else to do without me?

i had my 2 dogs I(riley 5yrs old, tia 14 yrsold) outside last night when i was waiting for my mom to come home to pick me up for hockey. when my mom didnt show up, i wnet to phone her inside and left the dogs outside. they were outside for about 2 minutes and were gone before i came out. Today Riley came home without his companion. We have looked all day and no luck. i got her for my 2nd birthday and i cant get over this. i need help. :(

I am so sorry Tia has not found her way home. Did you know you can start your own thread about Tia so others on this site can offer you support and prayers? Go to "Click Here to Add a New Message Subject" at the top of the first page of Grief Support and you can start your thread about Tia there.

Also, I have lit an internet candle for Tia under her name that will burn for 48 hours. You can find it by going to AurichWolf's thread entitled Light a Candle Here on page one of grief support and click on the icon.

I lost my beloved 17 year old dog Lady on Easter Sunday. We were at my mother-in-law's in Mississippi. Lady and my 2 other dogs (Bridgette 11 and Earl 10) were left at home in the kitchen and the wind had blown the locked door open and all three dogs got out (later we realized the door's lock was not in all the way). When we came home Earl was sitting on the front steps and Bridgette was inside and Lady was gone. My husband, mother-in-law and I have been feeling so horribly guilty. I don't think I have ever been so depressed for so long. I've always been so careful about checking and double checking doors. People who I have told this story to say that she probably went out to die. I am just starting to believe this after 8 days of her being gone and us being sick to death about it and after reading other similar stories on this site. Lady had been to my mother-in- laws just as many times as my other 2 dogs (about 8) who came back. So why didn't she come back too? Lady was in good health overall (she just had a physical and blood test a month ago) however she was losing her hearing and sight and because of it she would often go outside in our big fenced in back yard late at night and have a hard time coming back in unless my husband went out after her. I just don't know why she would leave the "pack" and not come back. I have prayed multiple times every day since this happened that she not be in any pain, scared, hungry or lonely. We posted signs, put an add with a reward in the newspaper, put information in mailboxes, called the only vet and pound in the small, rural town she got lost in. We got calls the first five days that she had been gone from people who had seen her. One caller thinks they saw her on the side of the road and had called to have her "picked up" before we could identify whether it was her or not. It shocked me that not one person thought to take care of this poor dog and try to help her find her way home. I miss her so much. My heart is broken. She was my mom's dog who we started taking care of about 6.5 years ago. I just wish I knew what Lady was thinking. Had she been waiting for an opportunity like this all her life to go roam and be free to go where ever and do whatever? did she accidentally go farther from the house than she had planned and then forget how to get home? or was the door getting blown open on Easter, two days before the 4th anniversary of my mother's death (her former owner) just a coincidence? I've never realized how important closure is until now and how important it is for one's mental health to have it when they have lost a loved one. If I ever see a dog roaming around I will do my best to return it to its owner(s). I never want another person to go through what we have gone through and are going through. It has been a nightmare. I am so thankful that our other 2 dogs are home and safe but I will never be able to forget our precious, loving Lady.

I am so sorry to hear about your precious Lady. My heart just breaks for you, but I can't help but think she might eventually somehow find her way back to you. One would think small town people would be more helpful when they see an older dog wandering.

Did you know you can start your own thread about Lady so others on this site can offer you support and prayers? Go to "Click Here to Add a New Message Subject" at the top of the first page of Grief Support and you can start your thread about her there. Having your own thread about her will allow others to post replies to you directly under your post.

I will say a prayer for Lady and you. I have lit an internet candle for her that will hopefully "light" her way home to you. To view it for the next 48 hours, go to AurichWolf's Light A Candle Here thread on page one of this Grief Support board and click on the light a candle icon. Her candle will be there with her name on it. Please keep us posted.

But if we have dogs and cats who are used to going out -- epsecially if they came to us as strays or ferals -- I think we can't simply not let them ever go out when they get old. It's part of their 'quality of life' and each pet owner knows their own baby the best. It's a chance we take -- I know that with my Herbie, he needed to be able to come and go as he pleased thru the kitty doors. As he got older in the last months after seizures and heart trouble, I did lock the kitty doors at night, but he had his freedom during the day. I am home all day, so it was ok. He still never left his yard.

I think it's best to give our pets the happiest life rather than concentrating only on giving them the longest life. Quality versus quantity -- although it's be great to have both. If we answer the question for ourselves, wouldn't most of choose a happy but somewhat abbreviated life over a longer but boring/sheltered life? I know I would.

I recently lost my 5 year old min pin Niko. I noticed a huge lump on her gland three months ago. I took her to the vet for tests and was told that nothing was wrong. Sure enough, the swollen gland went back to normal within a few days. I was relieved until I noticed Niko trying to hide under a chair in a room we never use. She was determined to squeeze under this chair for some odd reason. This went on for a solid week or so. One day Niko went out into the back yard with our other dog chi-chi as they had done hundreds of times before. Niko made a bee line for the wooded area behind our house and never came out. Chi-chi came directly back in but Niko was gone. A neighbor less than a half mile away found her dead behind her shed. She had never been interested in the woods in five years of living here. I just wonder if she knew it was her time. She was still young....I miss her a ton.

My heart goes out to all who have lost pets on this site....It is really tough to deal with.

That is a really tough question. I know I have heard that wild animals do go off alone to die and perhaps there is some instinct in our pets that would make them do the same. I really don't know. I just know you are hurting and my heart goes out to you.

We noticed the same behavior in our Sofie before she died. She just sat in the yard looking up at the sky. The few days before her death, she distanced herself from us. She slept in a corner of the bathroom and not in her bed next to us. She moved away if we came close to her and tried to hug her. She refused to go on her evening walk, something that was almost sacred to her.We believe she was telling us it was time. Our vet says they call this denning.

Oh dear God. We are so heart broken and our hearts go out to all of you.

Haybird - pls, pls do not let that unthoughtful, unknowledgeable shelter persons words even stick in your mind. what does she know?!? she sounds just angry, and i guess it makes sense due to what she sees, but should've known you were a loving owner.

Akita - I do not know, but I believe they do. Of course, you (if poss) shold keep searching or maybe post some notes, local ad, in case someone took your baby in...you never know, maybe she's ok, and with someone else. But I do believe that animals in general know. Cats do. (I've been told by many now...)

i read poppys mom's comment. i live in santa rosa , ca too im 17 and my names joe. my dog oliver is a dachshund i love him more than anything he died tuesday march 17th 2008. he went in our pond once my mom found him dried him then he did it again so she took him to the vet they didnt think he was going to live thru the night but he did. we got to keep him for 3 more days, we observed him he seemed find when he was with us walking by the pond, one day i was just home on my computer i went out back to check on him and he was in the pond. the hardest thing about this was that i was by myself and had no one to be with i went to take him out i just helm him looked at him and cleaned him. i couldnt believe it and it has taken me days of thinking to figure out that he didnt want to die when he was with us. he waited until i was in my room and my mom wasnt out back. i griefed thkning that maybe he fell in and was trying to get out and i wasnt there but i have come to realise he knew wat he was doing and he was thinking about me when he died. this is the first time ive shared this with anyone i just wanted to put it out ther ekind of. i miss him every day but i kno hes fine. I believe it was God that let me have my dog for 3 more days before he died

My old girl wandered off on walk on Thurs. the 6th and hasn't returned. She was a rescue husky and my records indicate she was 17....which is really old for a dog of her size. She had been having a little trouble walking on her back legs, but when she got outside to go on a walk, she acted like a puppy. My husband and I walk several of our dogs at one time, and the old ones who usually don't go anywhere aren't on a leash. I would never have imagined my girl wandering off and not coming home, but it's happened. We live on the edge of the Alaskan wilderness, and have search miles and miles, but haven't found her. I had a dog who was caught in a trap for three days....he lived and had a toe amputated. There are a lot of traps where I live and just hope her death was painless. I'm pretty devastated-- her life wasn't supposed to end this way. Why did she wander and not come back? From the time I noticed she was gone, until the time I began searching was 15 minutes. I'm still thinking this is a bad dream. I miss her so. :(

Animals are so much more tuned in to their bodies than people, they just seem to know when it is their time. A thought to hold onto, perhaps they are trying to spare us the grief of us seeing them pass. Love Di xxx

My cat, Abby, wandered off last night, and I haven't been able to find her. She was diagnosed just the day before with failing kidneys. She had gotten so skinny and weak in her back legs, but she didn't appear to be in any pain.

Last night she scratched on the door, but didn't want to come in. It was like shewanted to tell me something that I couldn't understand.

Such a sweet kitty. I think she *did* go off to die alone, and to spare me this,but not knowing makes me very sad. Even though I've seen this coming, I find myself unprepared for how it would affect me.

I hadn't had time to decide whether to subject her to a lot of medicalprocedures that might extend her life, but I'm starting to feel glad of that;her instincts were much better at giving her the quality of life that she needed.

Thanks for all your stories. Even though the loss is sad, and may lingerthrough the years, I take comfort in your posts and the sharing on this site.

I don't know about dogs- but my Oliver who is a cat loved being outside since he was when he was younger. He was a stray, during his last few months I made sure I took him outside in the yard everyday and let him roam under my watchful eye to make him happy as much as I could. He was very good about it like he always was just roaming the yard never left. A few weeks before things got really bad with his cancer I noticed he started taking off out of the yard alot and I would have to chase him and bring him back inside. He never used to do that I think maybe he wanted to be free and pass alone but didn't have the heart to do it around me? He probably knew I couldn't handle it. Unfortuntly cancer had spread very bad and he was euthanized.

So sorry for everyones losses.My dog Colby was ALWAYS in my bed.But he got out of bed around 2am and my husband found him on the floor laying as if sleeping there...but he was gone. One another note....if you leave smaller dogs *and kittys too*(min pins.chihuahuas,yorkies,etc.)outside alone...be CAREFUL hawks and coyotes are always around.It only takes a few seconds for them to carry your furbaby away.We have Chihuahuas and bunnies, but NEVER let them out alone.We have too many eagles,hawks and other predators around. I'm not saying that your sweeties met that fate,but it can happen.Prayers to all the people with broken hearts.

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